No More Tears
by Dark Wolf Flame
Summary: When Severus Snape finds a mysterious woman in his room, is all heck about to break loose? Or maybe something else quite the opposite? SSOC REVIEW PLEASE!
1. Prologue The War

No More Tears

Disownment: I don't own Harry Potter, if I did, I would leave Professor Snape a good guy, and leave Dumbledore, Sirius, and the next close person killed by Lord Voldemort and his followers alive, and I wouldn't kill them off. But I can't , and H.P belongs to J.K Rowling, not me. I love J.K Rowling, but she needs to leave my favorite characters alive.

Note: Never realized how much H.P and the Chronicles of Narnia were so alike. Both make my favorite animals and people are turned evil to the point that they are either killed, or forgotten. But enough complaining, and I will tell more of the story.

Prologue: The War

"Harry, Don't! Leave the cowardly dog where he lies," Hermione said with a scowl at her once most hated professor, lying before her, Harry, and Ron.

" I can't Hermione! He killed Dumbledore, and you expect me to let his killer go free?" Harry raged on.

" I think it would honor his memory more if you let him go! Please, Harry, he's not worth it. Someone else will finish him…Just wait! Please, Harry!" She said breaking into large tears.

Harry stood for a minute, and reflected upon Dumbledore. He remembered the first time he saw the man he would have called a grandfather, had he not lived longer than he had. He remembered Lemon Drops, and everything good that Dumbledore had stood for. Then he remembered his murder. That helpless look in his eyes, and Snape's refusal to be merciful. Harry remembered what Dumbledore had said, "I trust Severus with my life." As much as he hated Snape for everything that he had done, he would not let himself turn into a cold blooded killer like Snape had been. He sighed, and lifted his wand, eyes not straying from Snape.

"Snape, You are free to go… As long as you never cross my path again…" Harry said, holding back all the fury he could have unleashed upon the ruthless creature in front of him.

"I will be sure to do that, Potter…Just pray that you never cross mine…" Snape said, and he ran. Harry watched, as Snape became a dot on the horizon, and then watched as he faded altogether from sight. Then Harry turned to his friends, and said, " We had better get back to the camp. The war is over, but there is still a lot of cleaning up to do." The friends looked down sadly at the flames that raged below them, and started down into the narrow valley where the last battle for the Wizarding World had taken place. They sighed, and knew that there would still be many battles before the bloodshed was completed. They just hoped that it was no more of their blood that was spilt…


	2. Stupid Girls, Stupid Guys

Chapter 1: Stupid Girls, Stupid Guys

_2 years later, 3 years after the murder of Dumbledore…_

Snape awoke again to the sound of the faucet in his office dripping again…

"_Bloody sink! I thought that I fixed that two years ago…"_ He thought with a low growl at the back of his throat. Menacingly, he rose from the four-poster that he used as a bed in the School of Hogwarts. Minerva had let him back in, after he plead guilty in the Ministry hearing on Wednesday, from insanity. He didn't know why he wanted to return to his old post, but he knew he had done it for a reason. There were so many unbearable memories that he couldn't bear it… He decided that he guessed he did it for penance for the sin that he had forcibly committed for the sake of Draco Malfoy.

Now as he stood, with his back to the life behind him, and a future of uncertainty and trial ahead of him, it seemed as though he were reminiscing his evil act at every moment of his life. At times, he just wanted to take a wand, and shove it through his throat, but he knew that he couldn't. He shook these thoughts away, and went to fix the leaking faucet…

When he was done, he rose, and saw something large shift in the shadows…

"Come out, whether you are a filthy little student, or a misfit Bogart, I really don't feel like having trouble today…" He said, but there was not another sign of movement.

Snape turned when he heard a low growl, like a lion's and he saw a pair of gleaming almond, yellow colored feline eyes. He raised his wand, and slowly backed up until he was right against a wall. Then, it seemed like the creature was _laughing_ at him!

" What's the matter, Severus? Cat got your tongue?" a silky, smooth, feminine voice said from the shadows

"No, I just don't feel that I need to use my voice when there is no need to use it…" He replied, his heart reaching into his throat.

"There is a great need to use it, I have returned…" The voice said…

Snape dropped his wand instantly…

"It can't be you! You fled for America when the Dark Lord ascended into power! Do you even realize how much _danger _you are in?" Snape said with a shocked look on his face.

The creature laughed again, and stepped into the shadows. It was a woman, about 35 years of age, with long white hair, and a lean, sinewy body. She had electrifying blue eyes, full of deep wisdom and experience beyond her years. She looked both dangerous, and a little mystifying, with a smile of death. By a smile of death, he meant that when she smiled, there was a set of snow-white fangs, like a vampire's.

"Danger, Severus? The Dark Lord does not frighten me…no mortal man does…" She smiled, and then walked so that their faces were barely inches apart. Snape tried to back away, but found all too late that he was against a wall. So he just gave up, and let her come close.

"I came back to visit my mother… and my father…" She said sternly without a smile.

Snape laughed, a cold, disquieting and merciless sound of pure spite. "Really, I had reason to believe you have already passed him…"

The woman looked clueless for a moment, so Snape laughed, and continued.

"He lies in a stone cold ivory bed…it was rather hard to miss, love… I am sure that you know where he sleeps, the big white tomb near the lake…"

Then, just about the time she was going to punish him for his insolence, her pupils dilated, and she looked scared for a moment. She stopped in mid swipe, and backed away slowly, like a frightened animal.

"This… This can't be true! My father…Dead? But Why…Why was he killed?"

"He is more dead than you are standing alive in front of me. He was killed because The Dark Lord assigned Draco Malfoy to do it, but he did not possess the backbone or the stamina to do it himself," Snape said with a maniacal, nightmarish grin.

She let go of him, dropping him on the dungeon floor. He rose so that the two of them were eye level. Sorora held his gaze for one moment, and then turned away, seemingly disgraced by his eye contact. Snape took hold of her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. Then he forcefully twisted it away.

"How did he…Was it quick…and painless?" She asked, holding back tears.

Snape clucked his pity, and picked up his wand. "Oh, he died like a tired, old man, with a tender disposition to see how people truly are…you should be proud to have had him as long as you had… You are truly lucky, Sorora…"

Sorora crawled to the farthest corner of the room, and curled herself into a compacted ball. Once there, painful tears fell like salty rain on the dungeon floor.

Snape walked to her, and gently rubbed her exposed back, and he clucked all the more. "There, there…I am here to help you…I am sure that I can-" He let his eyes travel up her sinewy, beautiful body. Then they rested at her lips, full, red, and beautiful all at the same time. "Possibly provide an old friend of mine with a little bit of comfort." Then, slowly he started to bring his head down to her lips. Just before they made contact, she turned over, and with a large red tiger like paw, she swiped it across his face.

He jumped back as a fountain of blood poured from the slashes that Sorora had left. There was an unnatural scream of pain that erupted from his lips, as about a pint of blood rushed down the man's face. The blood collected in a large pool on the floor, like an immense puddle of crimson rain. He whimpered silently, like a sulking dog, and tried without avail, to stop the unnatural gushing from his face. She grabbed her wand, pointed it at his face, and screamed, "HEAL!"

The blood disappeared, and any sign of a struggle between them was quickly erased. He rose, and looked stunned for a minute. He was both bewildered and attracted, as he watched her try to regain her composure. _No one_ had, _never_ in his life, dealt him a blow that nearly caused him a loss of blood, sight, and even _dignity_, especially not a female of this sort of caliber, who knew full well that he wasn't worth being struck. He was in awe of her courage, and slight stupidity.

Sorora sheathed her wand, and turning away, she said, "Let this be a lesson, Severus, that I do not allow my father's killer to fraternize with the daughter of the victim. In other words, I knew all along that he was dead, I just had to see for myself that his killer was the man I once loved beyond all the pain of my soul…"

"_What did you just say_?" He asked with both eyes narrowed slightly, and a suggestion of complete and utter astonishment on his facial features.

"_I said that I am in love with you, you foul incredulous spiteful git!_" She shouted testily. She then turned around towards the stairs.

Snape watched, in a shocked state of mind, as Sorora walked off, without another word. He wanted to stop her, but sulkily, he knew deep down inside, that stopping her would only hinder his chances more. But he didn't listen anyway.

"Sorora, wait!" He said, catching her arm in his hand.

She turned, and Snape could see that those once clear blue eyes had now refracted clear tears.

"What now?" She asked.

Snape didn't say anything. He bent her backwards without hurting her, and pressed his cold lips to her surprised mouth. She gasped and struggled at first, but then she wrapped her arms around his greasy haired neck, and returned the affection almost hungrily. He pulled her deep into his cloak, closer to his chest, and his dark, thrumming rhythmic heart.

Then, he restored her, and let go. He started to walk away, but Sorora would not let him go.

"Please, you are one of the few people left in my life, so stay and be near me…"

"I thought you did not want to be near 'your father's killer'…"

"Please, I need you…to repair the damage and to tell me how things became like this…because I just can't see through the fact that you killed him!"

Snape regarded her with open, solemn eyes, and with a cold fierceness, he walked over and allowed her to envelope him with her arms. She didn't cry or display any emotions, just took several shallow, shaky breaths. Then, Sorora spoke again.

"My Half-Blood Prince…Misery is rather unpleasant company, such discomfort can only cause such terrible pain for you and those around you. Why did you kill him, Severus? What victory comes from the death of a merciful and kind man such as my father was?"

He pulled away roughly, and said, "Don't. Call. Me. That. Again. Please. And I don't want to talk about that, so don't pester me."

Sorora scowled at Snape, then turned to the stairs, and then back to him. "Pester you? Who said anything about pestering? I merely looked to find answers, not pester anyone. I am your colleague, and a friend if you had only let me help… Severus Snape, I hope that you die in your own filth! May your pride be as shriveled and dark as your cold heart!"

"Perfectly fine with me…" Snape whispered underneath his breath, and they went off to their separate ways.

'_Stupid women! Why do they have to be such pains in the ass?' _He thought with a terrible malice.

_'Stupid men! Why does he have to be such a sore ass?' _Sorora thought with fierce determination.

_'I wish they would just get some manners and quit acting like they do!' _They both thought infuriatingly.


	3. When Your Teachers Attack, Part 1

Chapter 2: When Your Teachers Attack, Part I

"Sorora, I know you came for a short visit, but could you possibly stay on as our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor? I mean, since you have had some obvious experience as an Auror, even though you have been retired from your post for some time? And understanding your lineage-"

"Depends. How far into the term are you, that I could slip in and teach, Minerva?" Sorora interrupted quickly.

"We've just started. Your first class is at 10:00 this morning. You will be well paid, and your meals are well provided for. You will stay in your old room off the Astronomy Tower, so that you can come and go as you wish, and as you need. But be careful, as times have changed since you were once a young Slytherin. The students have grown more…"

"Vicious? Bloodthirsty? Barbaric?" Sorora said teasingly.

"Somewhat…" Minerva said with a smile.

"Don't worry…I know they will be positively Purrrfect…" Sorora said licking her lips with a feline prowess.

"You know the rules, Sorora, so **obey** them," Headmistress Mc Gonagall said, and turned back to her office.

Sorora walked off to breakfast, not knowing that someone was pursuing her.

Snape watched as she walked off, and smiled like a devil on holiday. He would talk to his students today, because he had a plan…

At breakfast, Sorora chatted with Nearly Headless Nick, who welcomed her back warmly, and she kissed him on the cheek after he offered to show her around, but she insisted that she was fine. Nick blushed, and turned a bright crimson.

"Like I said long ago, Sorora, you were the only Slytherin I ever bothered to care about!" Nick said with a friendly grin.

"Oh Ha Ha!" Sorora said sarcastically.

The two friends cut short their conversation about the good times when she was at Hogwarts when Headmistress Mc Gonagall sat up at the staff table. Sorora rushed quickly to take a spot between Mc Gonagall and Professor Flitwick. Snape eyed her coldly, but curiously, because most of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professors sat next to him.

"_I guess after what happened this morning, she doesn't want to get within five feet of me. Good," _he thought with a sneer. He sat attentively, listening to the announcement of the strict Headmistress.

"Please excuse this early morning announcement, but I have some excellent news to deliver to you. I have found a replacement for the post of our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Now, this young, enthusiastic woman was once a Slytherin prefect and Head Girl here at Hogwarts, and one of our top students here at Hogwarts, before a Miss Hermione Granger came along. So I request that you show her the same respect that you have shown either Professors Flitwick, Sprout, Snape, or even I, in the past. Please welcome new to our staff, Professor Sorora Nightshade."

Sorora stood, and whistles, catcalls, and lots of applause erupted from all over the Great Hall. But oddly, none came from the Slytherin table, which sat silent and cold from the farthest part of the room. Then soon after she sat down, the noise stopped, and the school was dismissed to go about their daily tasks and to get to their first class, at 7:45 am. Sorora had nearly two and a half hours to set up the classroom, to her fancy. A cold shiver of excitement rippled down her spine. Then, she could create her welcoming speech, and practice her first lesson, which she had already planned.

But her plans, which she began shortly before breakfast and finished during that time period, had her caught in herself so much that she temporarily forgot where she was going, and she ended up colliding with a rather moody professor that everyone knows and that not everyone loves. She realized this only when it was a little too late…

"Ooff!" He said, and she ended up hugging his chest, and all her stuff a jumbled mess on the floor. For a moment he was temporarily dazed, then he seemed to realize he had bumped into _her_.

"Professor Nightshade, would you please remove your arms from my waist, _and watch where you are going_!" Professor Snape said with an expression of disgust.

Sorora pulled away quickly, and glowered back with an equal look of disgust. Gently brushing herself up, she collected her papers, and replied with, "Really, _Professor _Snape, if you think that I would indulge into fancies beyond those of _colleagues_, I believe that there you are quite wrong. Unless you are living in a world of psychotic fantasy, I don't understand why you would even think of such things,"

"I don't, I merely thought that today's episode would…" Severus started, but did not finish before a fist as quick as lightning and as strong as a 20-pound brick came crashing into his jaw. He slipped back into the wall with the force and pain from the blow, and flinched.

"Ass! You need to learn when to shut that jaw of yours, before you end up getting it broken!" She said, and turned to the direction of her classroom on the Seventh floor.

"Professor Nightshade, true to your name, it appears to me that you have an edge rougher to the touch than even mine. Pardon me, but I need to prepare for my first class," He said, sulkily rubbing the left side of his cheek. He stalked off towards the dungeons. By that time, Sorora was long lost deep in thought…

_The woods comforted her, like the scents of home. She was tired, and weak from her last Quidditch match against Gryffindor. Lily and Sirius had put up a fight, and she was weary from her classmate's poor choice of decisions. She never was involved much with the dark haired, pale, greasy boy that they had picked on since the moment they arrived at Hogwarts. Just today they decided to hex him with an odd curse that made his nose grow larger. She felt sorry for him, yet she did not wish to help him because he was a sulky, odd, reminder of the world's cruelty._

_She remembered that day long ago when Dumbledore had allowed her to spend the day with her neighbor, who volunteered to baby sit for her. Sorora's dark past came to her in memories; the neighbor had invited her in, and trusting him, she followed. At the time, she was only seven years old. He had stripped her of her valuables, her pride, and her dignity, all in the same day. She wept every night when her father happened to leave the room at night, praying that the angel she had lacked would protect her, and never allow that event in history to repeat itself. It took a while for her to feel "normal" again. _

_This boy, the pain they shared, it seemed similar in a way. Though he probably wouldn't admit to grieving over it like she had. She and he were like two trees found in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, each weathering the trials of life, with broken, knarled branches, both reaching out to something better that they knew existed. So many secrets that she kept from her public life, and even her mother. Her mother! Sorora had even changed her name to hide where she came from and who her parents were. And what had happened in America was yet another story to be told._

_She knew then that she wasn't alone…_

Sorora jumped to find that she was already done with decorating the room. She smiled. '_Let's just say,'_ she thought to herself, '_That the room definitely has an enchanted wilderness look'._ Ten minutes until class starts, and she was nervous. But she knew just what she was doing. She groaned, and began to grow and change, skin turning fire red, legs and arms extending, and then she could feel the ripping and tearing of muscle tissue growing, stretching, and realigning itself. It burned, but she knew it was a pleasant burn, one of pleasure and delight. She soon sprouted long, red fur and a lion like tail. The end result was a huge lion like animal that had gigantic paws and sinewy muscles. Then she hid and waited for her students to appear, one by one. The room had a forest look, with plants draping from the ceiling and covering the walls and floor. Desks were carved ornately with werewolves, nymphs and other such creatures on the legs of them.

Soon, the whole class had taken their seats, or tried to.

She growled, low and deep in her throat, and stared from on top of her desk. The class saw her, and they screamed. Then she jumped off the desk, turning human as she did. "Boo," She said with a purr, and she walked around the room.

"Class, I am your new professor. You will address me as Professor Nightshade, or in the event you find favor with me, which will be very difficult to do, you will be allowed to call me Sorora. However, I am a very strict teacher, and I would prefer to be addressed as Professor Nightshade. Now, class, can any of you tell me what that creature I had just changed into was?"

None had raised their hand. Except a bold Ravenclaw girl named Sally White.

Sorora glanced in her direction and nodded.

"You were a Lionex, a mix of a tiger, lion, and wolf," Sally spoke up, with a little more confidence.

"Excellent. I will award 10 points to Ravenclaw, and a Snickers bar to Miss Sally White of Ravenclaw. Thank you so much for showing enough courage to step up to the challenge," Sorora said, tossing the girl the candy bar from her robe.

Sally smiled, "Wow. Thanks Professor Nightshade!"

"No problem. Now, I am going to teach you about hunting down Dark wizards, Darker Creatures, and things that go bump in the night. You will need your wits, skill, and intelligence if you are going to survive in this world. And that is what all the teachers here, including the old bat Professor Snape, are trying to accomplish. So that you don't leave this school with brains of fluff, like what the sorting hat had at one time mentioned. So I want you all to complete your homework, stay focused, and work hard in this class. If you do, then I will grant you an incentive; you will have Fridays off from homework. But, should one of you decide to stray from the focus of hard work, you will all receive detentions to be served cleaning toilets or some other embarrassing chore, or listening to a lecture provided by me, and I will make you do 50 pushups that double for each offense, plus the number of pushups will be added on to the principle push up numbers. Plus I pile on more homework. I am sending around the room my expectations and syllabus for the time that you spend in this room with me. Your homework for tonight is to read them. Quiz tomorrow," Sorora said with a smile. The class groaned. She smiled.

"Now, I will move on to the lesson. Let's start with this question, 'How many ways can a Dark wizard present themselves, and in how many forms?' This is all human psychology, if you catch on. You can also tell if someone is lying about being under the Imperious curse in this way also. This can help you identify the wolf in sheep's clothing from the actual sheep, as a great man used to tell me. Someone tell me what these forms are, please," She said. Most of the class raised their hands. She picked on a girl in the front row to answer the question.

"Um, Passive, Aggressive, and Undetermined," She said nervously.

"Correcto, chica!" Sorora said, and gave her a candy bar.

She then led the class into a huge discussion about these forms. The class started to like her a lot in the few minutes that they had known her, and she had them as well. The class finally ended, and the students left. She then had the next period to relax. She had just about slipped into a short catnap when someone had approached her. His shadow was very unnerving for her.

"I hope that the students did not frighten you, otherwise I would hate that we would need to hunt for another person to fill up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," He said with a fake chuckle. Sorora looked up, and frowned.

"Oh, it's you again, _Professor_ Snape. I rather hoped you would have drowned in the lake, but that was just a silly fantasy," She said with a glare.

"I am not amused, _Professor_ Nightshade," He said pulling a chair to her desk.

"Then why are you pulling a seat next to my desk?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wanted to see how poorly a teacher you are. What's this?" He said turning to the piles of Expectations and Syllabuses lying on top of her desk.

"Exactly what the titles of the papers say they are. I figured I would explain just what they were getting themselves into with my class. I have a zero tolerance level for sarcasm to a teacher, not doing homework, missed attendance in classes without a note, among other things. I would expect that you would know all about teaching at this point, so I won't go into gross details," She said casually.

"Interesting," He said, folding his arms, and crossing his legs in his chair.

"Is that truly all you have to say to me, Severitis?" She said with a look of inferiority.

"Don't call me that, Sorora Dumbledore," He said turning away, and she got up after laying her lessons on the table.

"I have changed my name, long ago that was what my name was. And I don't know why a half-blood like you had to defile it by speaking it aloud," She said walking out of the room without another word.

'_Damn_,' He thought watching her go. Another evening he would spend in his office alone. No wonder, he had always been the first to strike a person's vulnerability before he gave them a chance. That was just his way...


	4. Chapter 3 Haunting Thoughts

Chapter 3 Haunting Thoughts, Pervading Memories

Sorora wished that the burning tears would just come instead of burning the backs of her eyes. She was just calling him that just to tease. She didn't think she could hit a nerve by calling him that. He just had to bring up one of her deepest secrets and wounds, and throw salt in it. She stopped and panted for a minute, laying her books on the floor beside her. She decided a run would serve her well that night. It would certainly clear her thoughts of any old wounds. She was hungry, so she decided to go get dinner and then leave when the sun went down. But then maybe "Snivellus" would follow her and get hurt. Not by her, but by another creature that would happen to run the same forest path…

None other than Severus Snape approached her, and he seemed quite restless. He paused for a minute, and asked, "Can I walk with you to dinner?"

"As long as no stupid wisecracks escape from your mouth to me…then you may walk with me," She replied without emotion.

"Look, this is hard for me to tell you, but…"

"But, what?"

"But I apologize for making you feel horrid."

"What you did to me, I may never forgive you for. I lost my father because of your fear and loathing. I lost my friend and my safety. I lost one of the few people left that care for me," She said, her face turned away. Her face was turned away because of a few stray tears that piled in her silver hair.

"I did it because I had made a promise to Narcissa Malfoy…"

"In doing so, you caused me a chain of painful memories. I kept seeing his face, dying in my mind over and over again. I was looking at those awful muggle drugs staring at me in my medicine cabinet, and I almost downed the whole bottle, had there not been a voice in my head that day to stop me," She said, biting her tongue, and drawing salty blood along with it.

This gave Snape an awful idea for revenge. So he just walked away.

And left her to get dinner, and run through the Forbidden Forest…

Dinner was just a bowl of onion soup, and served her well for that evening She stopped at her quarters, and shed her clothing on the couch. She pulled one small duffle bag from her luggage, and stuffed the clothing in there. Then she opened the window to feel the wind against her body.

She began to change her form, the bones slowly crunching and realigning to form the skeletal system of the Lionex. Then, a wolf like tail grew from the bones and muscles that had realigned. Skin covered the muscle and bone, and a thick pelt of red sprung from the skin that had just appeared. The fur was the color of blood, but shimmered and turned to silver, like a wolf's pelt often does in the moonlight. Most of her body was now leonine, but parts of her body were distinctively wolf. Her eyes were golden, and slitted like a cat's, but her ears were wolfen. Finally, a set of red and gold wings sprang from her back, ending the short transformation. As her eyes adjusted, her vision had increased tenfold, and her hearing was now so acute that she could hear the mice in the walls of Hogwarts scrambling about in search for crumbs that the students left behind. She was one of the strongest animals known to wizard kind, and had only just been discovered. The Lionex was a predator animal so close to being perfect, that it was one of the rarest creatures because everyone wanted an animal like the Lionex. She was the only person that had ever mastered the transformation. All those that had tried to master the magic of this animal could not return to human form after they tried it. Some were even hunted down; which was why she kept her ability a secret until now.

This thinking had led her back to her memories, a dangerous world without the anti-depressants to keep her on safe ground. But she had left them in her medicine cabinet in America, because she couldn't visit her mother like that. She was addicted; and she needed help, but was afraid to ask for it from anyone other than her father. Which was one reason why she had returned from America; now she wondered how would she rid herself of that problem…

A run would definitely do her some good. No secret love for her father's murderer to hunt her down and attempt to follow her. So she did…she ran past all the trees of the forbidden forest, and into a clearing, where a great waterfall stood gurgling ahead. It was here that she stopped to change back and rest.

She decided to jump in. Lord, it might be cold, but she was ready for a wake up. With little apprehension, she struck the water with naught a sign that she had jumped in, and shivered slightly. Then, she went under…to douse her thoughts with cold...

"_White lilies…All I have to remember Tariana, were white lilies…_

'_I'm so sorry Sorora. You did your best in the given situation,' Meron said with a light tap on my shoulder. I shoved his arm away, and walked to the casket after all Tariana's relatives had left. The rain poured down, as though the angels themselves were weeping for her loss as much as we were now._

'_Try owning the hand that dealt the final blow to your best friend,' I said with bitter reminiscence of the stake of silver that ended her life. I rubbed my arms gently up and down. A part of the black cloak I was wearing showed fresh scratches running up and down my arm, one a very large, stitched cut. Meron frowned._

'_Nobody blames you or her. It was an accident; she just got too carried away. You did the right thing in killing her, and she would not blame you for it. You should get some help; those look like they are bad…'_

'_I need no help,' I said, and started to growl, low in my throat. He backed away._

'_Yes you do…' This was all I could take…"_

"NOOOOO!" She roared, returning to the surface panting. The water was clear and deep, as little shockwaves rippled the calm water.

Then she was pulled back down to the depths of black insanity. She struggled against whatever was bringing her down again, and was not succeeding. "RELEVO!" she shouted in her mind. The creature laughed, still dragging her down. She changed, and spread her wings to pull against the creature, but more appeared, and held down her wings. She began to see her life flash before her eyes, when she thrust herself forward. Gripping the ground with powerful paws, she dug her talons into the ground, slipping back. The creatures grew angry and pulled her harder. She was now about to give up, when she changed back, and closed her eyes. _So, this is what death feels like?_ She thought with a cynical chuckle. _I just hope they have hot-spring spas where I am going_.

Then a hand grasped her scruff of her neck, and jerked her back violently, out of the water and the clutches of the Grindilows.

"Damn you woman! Are you daft? You could have killed yourself, as a matter of fact, you almost did! Those were Grindilows; they live in deep pools of water! Why did you do that?" A normally dark, silky voice said, which was now furious and enraged.

She coughed up mouthfuls of water, and retched. Between fits of spasms, she spoke and shivered. "Thank you for your concern, but I had it under control."

"That is a load of bloody poppycock! You almost drowned, had I not been here to snatch you from the jaws of death!"

"I apologize if I was an interruption to your nightly stroll, Professor," She said, wiping her mouth with the end of her soaked cloak. His eyes were merciless almonds of coal, as he looked into her frost blue eyes.

"Who the devil are you, that you are following me? My mother?"

"Bloody well I did, or you would be lying underneath that pool, food for the Grindilows," He said, pulling his cloak off, and pulling it across her. She shivered, not sure how to make her gratitude known. He took out his wand and set a blue flame to a nearby stick, then sat down to sulk.

"I'm sorry; I am just upset; things have been difficult, and I don't know how to handle it," She said, and pulled the cloak closer to her body.

He said nothing, but picked her up and extinguished the flame. She shivered again, and sneezed. " Let's go; I would like to get back before sunup." Silently, she followed him with indignity.


End file.
